Roofers in Barnsley
Many of Barnsley's older streets are terraces with Welsh slate roofs, some with stone fronts and brick backs, and much of the rest is semis and bungalows built between the wars and in the decades after. I cover Barnsley from my base in Leeds, and you deal with me from the first call to sign-off.
I reply to every enquiry within 1 hour, 7am–7pm.
Black Barnsley: stone fronts and slate roofs
Around Victoria Road, north of the town centre, the houses built from about 1860 are faced in a hard local gritstone that weathers to black. That's where the nickname Black Barnsley comes from. Most are two storeys with Welsh slate roofs.
The stone can be only skin deep. Greenwood Terrace, built in 1896, is faced in stone but built mainly of red brick, which shows at the sides and the back.
In the area around the town centre and Park Road, close to two-thirds of homes were built before 1919, and most are terraced. Across the borough, the council estimates that almost 30% of privately owned homes date from before 1919.
Semis and bungalows
Barnsley is a borough of semis and bungalows. More than a third of its homes are semi-detached and about one in seven is a bungalow, both well above the average for England, and far fewer than average are flats.
More than four in ten homes in the borough went up between the wars or in the decades after 1945. In the Athersley area, about two-thirds of homes date from 1945 to 1972, and in Monk Bretton more than a quarter are bungalows. The council still owns around 18,000 homes, and its housing strategy notes that some of them are of non-traditional construction.
What that means for your roof
- Old Welsh slate. On a terrace well over 100 years old, the slate often has life left, but the nails rust through and slates slip. A few slipped slates is a repair. Slates slipping all over the roof means it's time for new fixings.
- Stone and brick stacks. Barnsley Council's guidance says historic masonry should be pointed in lime, and calls cement strap pointing physically damaging. A chimney repointed in hard cement can end up worse than before.
- Roofs on semis and bungalows. Where a roof from between the wars or the post-war decades is still the original, it's 50 years old at the very least. Perished underlay, rotten battens and slipping tiles are the signs repairs are running out. A bungalow has more roof for its size than a two-storey house, so its condition matters all the more.
- Dormers. The council's guidance says flat-roofed dormers are prone to failure, and older ones often need re-covering.
Built on coal
Barnsley sits on the old coalfield, and the council's appraisal of the Victoria Road area notes shallow mining in many parts of the town before the 1850s. If walls have cracked or a roof line has distorted, the cause may be in the ground rather than the roof. The Mining Remediation Authority, formerly the Coal Authority, handles claims for mining subsidence damage, and I'll tell you if I think it's worth asking them.
The services that matter most here
For the houses Barnsley has, these are the three most likely to matter:
- Slate roofing: slipped slates, valleys and slate re-roofs on the older terraces.
- Chimney repairs: repointing stone and brick stacks, flaunching and leadwork.
- Re-roofs: for semis and bungalows where the original roof has reached the end of its life.
An old flat-roofed dormer can usually be re-covered. See flat roofing.
Conservation areas
Barnsley has 18 conservation areas. Three are in the town centre: Regent Street, Church Street and Market Hill; Victoria Road; and Huddersfield Road. Worsbrough has one too. If your house is in a conservation area or listed, check with Barnsley Council before changing the roof covering, the chimney or a dormer.
Covering Barnsley from Leeds
Barnsley is about 22 miles from Leeds city centre, down the M1 to junction 37. I cover it the same way as anywhere else. I reply to every enquiry within 1 hour, 7am–7pm. I come out, look at the roof properly and explain what I've found, and you get a free written quote with the price fixed before any work starts.
See all the areas I cover, including the towns between Barnsley and Leeds.
Barnsley roofing questions
My terrace has a stone front and a brick back. Does that change the work?
It can. The roof itself is usually Welsh slate either way, but any repointing, chimney work or making good needs to suit the stone at the front and the brick at the back. I'll tell you what yours needs.
My stone chimney was repointed in cement and is crumbling. What should it be?
On older stone and brick, lime mortar is usually the right choice, because it lets the masonry dry out. Barnsley Council's own guidance calls cement strap pointing on historic buildings physically damaging. The cement needs raking out carefully before the stack is repointed in lime.
I have an old flat-roofed dormer. Can it be re-covered?
Yes. An existing flat dormer roof can be re-covered like any small flat roof. If you're thinking of replacing the dormer instead, Barnsley Council's guidance prefers pitched dormers, and says flat-roofed ones are prone to failure and normally refused.
Could cracks or a dipped roof line be mining subsidence?
In parts of Barnsley it's possible, because there was shallow mining long before the big collieries. A roofer can't diagnose ground movement, but I'll tell you if what I see on the roof looks more like movement than wear. The Mining Remediation Authority, formerly the Coal Authority, handles claims for mining subsidence damage, so that's where to start.
Free written quote, fixed price agreed before any work starts.
Tell me what's going on with your roof. I'll come out, look at it properly and put the price in writing.
I reply to every enquiry within 1 hour, 7am–7pm.